Sunday, September 19, 2010

As many of you have heard, several popular YA novels have come under attack for being used in high school classrooms by a Dr. Scroggins out of Rupublic, MO. One of those books is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak is the story of a young woman who was raped and chose to stay silent about the things that happened to her. I haven't read the book, but I do plan to. Being a YA blogger, I have heard enough about Laurie Halse Anderson's books to know that they are not meant to 'corrupt' girls in any way. Anderson wrote her books to send us all a picture of reality, harsh as it may be, and to make sure people who have been abused in the same way don't feel quite so alone. I've always found that when reading books or watching a movie, the parts that make you cry, shake with anger, and question the the world around you are the things you remember most. They're the things that make you want to change whatever you can.

I could go on and on about everything he said but it all boils down to this: Does he have any clue what he is talking about? It sounds to me like he's just some self-righteous big-mouthed man who thinks he can dictate what's right and what's wrong for teenagers to read.

My opinion is that censorship is not the answer. Having just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, this really tore me up. I want to know your opinion. Please let me know what you think and also share any links if you've posted about this yourself.

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comments:

I haven't read Speak, but I agree with you and I think Dr. Scroggins is wrong. I think such a story would help educate teens on how horrible rape is or maybe give someone who was raped the courage to speak out.

Thanks for the feedback, guys! I haven't heard a single teenager (and the majority of them that I have talked to ARE Christian or maybe Muslim-obviously another very devout faith) has had anything BAD to say about any of these books.

I'll be doing a review of the movie (starring Kristen Stewart!!) and the book as soon as I get them in the mail as well as a giveaway. So keep looking for that! =)

"In each of us lie good and bad, light and dark, art and pain, choice and regret, cruelty and sacrifice. We’re each of us our own chiaroscuro, our own bit of illusion fighting to emerge into something solid, something real. We’ve got to forgive ourselves that. I must remember to forgive myself. Because there is a lot of grey to work with. No one can live in the light all the time."— Libba Bray